Hurricane Jonah (Imperiya Basin)
Hurricane Jonah was a catastrophic category 5 hurricane that caused 112 billion Finolian Argenties in damage (1 Argenti = .78 USD). Jonah was a long-lived storm and was very large in size, with the hurricane wind field spreading as far as 150 miles inland when it made landfall in Finolia. Jonah also shattered numerous records. For example, Jonah was the wettest tropical in both Finolia and COTOG, with Finolia reaching a record 65.1 inches of rain, while COTOG’s highest was 68.6 inches. Jonah was also Finolia’s strongest landfalling hurricane, with a sustained winds of 155 mph during landfall. The estimated death toll as of September 25th is 138. From a satellite, lights could be seen going out after Jonah made landfall in Finolia. In COTOG, sea level maps accidentally said some of COTOG’s southern lands were part of the ocean, likely due to the high rainfall rates, which caused flooding. Meterological History On August 25th, the Finolian Meterological Agency began to monitor a tropical wave in the central Wiso-Finolian Ocean, and it was given a 30% chance of developing in 5 days. Low wind shear and above-average water temperatures were a perfect breeding ground for development, and rapid develop for that. On August 26th, the FMA gave the disturbance a 60% of developing, and a day later, Tropical Depression Ten had formed. Ten strengthened into Tropical Storm Jonah later that day. The original forecast showed Jonah weakening, and most models showed it making landfall as a category 1 hurricane. So, the FMA predicted that Jonah would peak at a category 3. The next day Jonah became a category 1 hurricane, much faster than anticipated. Still, however, the FMA showed Jonah peaking at category 3, and then reaching strong wind shear and drier air. On August 29th, Jonah became a category 2 hurricane, and now two different models showed Jonah peaking as a category 4. One model even showed the shear and dry air clearing up before Jonah was supposed to reach it. The FMA now expected Jonah to peak as a category 4, with a category 2 Finolian landfall instead. On August 30th, Jonah had remained a category 1 with 90 mph winds. However, at the 8:00 pm advisory, Jonah had been upgraded to a category 2. The major hurricane models showed it making landfall near New Greensboro, Finolia as a weaker hurricane. Of course, there was some debate between models, and some showed it staying out to sea, while others showed it going further inland. On September 1st, Jonah was upgraded to a category 3 major hurricane, when only 4 days ago it was expected to be a category 1. The idea of a powerful storm hitting Finolia had finally become a real possibility, and the FMA advised citizens to monitor Jonah very closely, and the FMA issued a code yellow, which means “Major storm threat is possible”. On September 2nd, Jonah began slowing down as it became a category 4 hurricane, which was its expected peak at the time. Jonah had set its eyes at New Greensboro, a city with over 100,000 citizens. On September 4th, Jonah was upgraded to a category 5 hurricane, and Tropical Storm watches were issued for parts of the New Greensboro metro area. Jonah was expected to get caught in a cold front and move away from Finolia, but that was supposed to be after it made landfall. However, a growing number of models showed Jonah moving away from Finolia before the worst of its effects could happen. The Finolian government declared a state of emergency as well as a mandatory evacuation. Both sides of large highways were used to evacuate many citizens at a time. On September 5th, a Hurricane Warning was issued for many parts of the New Greensboro metro area, and Jonah began to grow large in size as it started to get caught in the cold front. This was when Jonah peaked as a category 5 hurricane with 185 mph winds. In the early morning of September 6th, Jonah made landfall in New Greensboro county. The area around New Greensboro is generally flat with few trees or hills, so hurricane force winds could be felt miles inland. Jonah did not make landfall as a category 5, instead, it made landfall as a powerful category 4 hurricane that slowly moved over Northeastern Finolia in a span of two days, causing extensive flooding and catastrophic damage. Jonah continued northeastward as a category 2 hurricane after making landfall in Finolia. The FMA said Jonah could loop around, back towards Finolia, though this was days out and many things could’ve changed. On September 9th, Jonah weakened to a category 1 hurricane as it began its turn southward. The FMA thought it was looping already, even though it wasn’t supposed to until the next day. Jonah continued southward, and then Jonah began to slow down and stall. Jonah turned westward, which was not at all expected. The upper-level low that had been steering it south had suddenly weakened and disappeared. There was another low pressure system to its north that was steering it westward. On September 10th, Jonah started to gain speed again as it started towards COTOG. Hurricane watches were issued as Jonah had been moving at a maximum speed of 18 mile per hour. The FMA said that bad news was coming to COTOG as well; Jonah was expected to stall and slow down after its landfall, before slowly moving westward, bringing fert of rain for COTOG’s southern areas. On September 11th, Jonah got caught in a cold front and rapidly restrengthened back into a low-end category 4 hurricane. Jonah made landfall in COTOG in the afternoon of September 11th as a category 4 hurricane. Jonah slowly moved westward, bringing plenty of rain, as expected. On September 12th, Jonah weakened into a tropical storm, and then a depression, before moving back out to sea and restrengthening back into a tropical storm. Jonah dissipated late on September 13th. Preperations New Greensboro After the FMA showed New Greensboro getting a direct hit, the New Greensboro House of Disaster Management, New Greensboro police station and government, and Finolian Government, induced mandatory evacuations and mobilized relief supplies before the storm hit. Those who decided to stay were told that they would face catastrophic damage and 7-foot high flood waters at the least. Still, some people decided to stay and ride out the storm. The New Greensboro police department directed evacuees to use both sides of motorways and major highways, which would also prevent any new people from entering the city. Bentonia Bentonia, a major suburb of New Greensboro, advised citizens to evacuate to New Greensboro for further instruction. Impact Finolia Finolia was the hardest hit nation during Jonah’s lifespan. On September 5th, the eyewall of Jonah neared New Greensboro, bringing nearly Category 5 force winds, as well as over 5 feet of rainfall in Downtown New Greensboro. Jonah’s eye went over Platinum Beach, a city about 45 minutes south of New Greensboro, before moving further inland and slowing down in speed. Platinum Beach was completely devastated as the worse of Jonah’s conditions went straight over the city. The highest sustained wind reported in Finolia was 154 miles per hour, with the highest gust being 183 miles per hour, on the beach of Platinum Beach. Western Islands The Western Islands are a small group of island, about 75 minutes north-northeast of New Greensboro, with the largest island being about 10 kilometers in area. A total of about 2,000 people live on these islands. Late on September 7th, Jonah went over these islands as a weakening Category 2 hurricane. Jonah had just completed its eyewall replacement cycle, which meant that there was a much larger wind field passing over these islands. One house was destroyed completely, with 2 others being severely damaged. 2 people died, both because of storm surge. Jonah left the islands about 12 hours later. Finolian Unincorporated Territory The Finolian Unincorporated Territory, or FUT is a group of territories owned by Finolia. On September 6th and 7th, Jonah passed just south of FUT. While hurricane-force winds were not reported, tropical storm force winds were. The highest sustained wind speed was 69 miles per hour, with the highest gust being 90 miles per hour. Multiple beaches and lakes near Jonah were flooded, and, in Beaufort, the highest rainfall was 10 inches. No one was injured or killed, though one house was damaged after storm surge collapsed the stilts supporting the house.Category:Category 5 hurricanes Category:Costly storms Category:Fictional basins